In an office adorned with another’s achievements, Mr. Brandon Turner leaves his own mark on one of North Penn’s most important institutions: The Future Planning center.

Turner currently runs the Future Planning Center, formerly known as the College and Career Center, while Mr. Patrick Brett recovers from his intensive surgery this past summer. Brett plans to return for the second semester but in the meantime, Turner has tackled the important job of helping seniors prepare for life after high school.

“This place is supposed to be a place that kids can come to get advice, to get started on common apps, to work through them…no matter where they’re going they should have some kind of plan on what comes after high school,” Turner said, excited to be working with seniors this year. “It’s a big deal.”

Last year, Brett was working completely virtually due to health conditions where he worked from the hospital, awaiting organ transplants, which he eventually got in June.

“Mr. Brett was awesome with planning and preparing us for some of the changes last year,” Turner said. “I was a senior counselor so even though I wasn’t in this exact position, at least I had kids who were filling out applications. It was a learning process with some of the differences, but we know a lot more now because it’s a lot more consistent to how it was last year.”

With transitions, things tend to be slow, and that proved true at the beginning of this year. Turner was one of four people to step in for Brett, and along the way, they’ve missed some things they might have done in previous years.

“It’s been busy, we’re a little behind, but I think we are catching up,” Turner explained, reflecting on some of the problems they faced early in the year. “College application night went pretty well, and for the student side of this, most deadlines are November first so we’re totally on pace to get everything ready for anybody who wants to meet those November first deadlines which makes me a little better.”

Normally, there is a Naviance boot camp right before the school year starts and because of the transition, it was unable to happen. However, there are many other opportunities for preparation throughout the school year including the financial aid night on October 7 and the FAFSA completion night on October 26.

Starting last week, college representatives began visiting North Penn to promote their colleges and to give students the opportunity to get to know schools they’re looking at or even schools they think they’d be interested in. 

“We really want to get more students here to see schools,” Turner expressed, mentioning that more information will be sent out soon about how to sign up on Naviance. 

With SATs in many schools being optional, another set of questions faces students on whether or not to send them, or even whether to take them.

“Most schools are telling us the same stuff they were telling us last year,” Turner reflected. “It makes a big difference for you guys, you don’t have to send SATs to every school. If your SATs will help, you send them. If you don’t think they’ll help and if it’s optional, then don’t send them.”

Overall, the college application process ins and outs can all be thought out with the help of anyone whether it’s teachers, classmates, or even Turner himself.

“I think it’s really important, no matter where you are in the process, getting advice from someone, or talking to adults, or talking to classmates, even just coming in here and seeing a college rep, it makes such a difference in changing that trajectory,” Turner said, encouraging seniors to visit him in K031.

The college application process can be daunting for students who don’t even know where to start or who to talk to, but there are always options in North Penn to get help.